The present invention relates to emergency care and transportation of trauma patients, especially in case of spinal injuries, and in situations requiring patient immobilization.
Equipment for transportation of injured patients commonly includes a tub-shaped basket stretcher which can have a pad or mattress removably secured therein, and a rigid spine board onto which the patient can be secured in appropriate cases, the patient being subsequently moved, together with the spine board, into the stretcher. Conventional spine boards of the prior art are fabricated from a substantially rectangular panel, typically of plywood, having a plurality of slots formed therethrough proximate opposite side edges of the panel. The slots serve as handles for carrying the patient, and as anchors for straps that secure the patient to the board. Typically, the spine boards have an additional one pair or a pair of the slots proximate each end of the board.
A problem with the conventional equipment of the prior art is that it is often desirable to provide padded support for the patient. While it is known to provide basket stretchers with a pad or mattress, such mattresses would be unsuitable for use on a spine board, in that the mattress would block or restrict access to the side slots of the board. Also, the conventional equipment is awkward to use in that the existing mattresses have no convenient attachment to the spine board, and because the securing straps, being loose items, are difficult to manipulate while holding the patient (and the mattress) on the board. Moreover, the straps are easily lost.
Thus there is a need for spine board apparatus that avoids the above disadvantages.